


Before I Leave You

by bornfromanxietea



Series: Before I Leave You [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Confessions, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Friendship/Love, M/M, Music, NaruSasu - Freeform, One Shot, Orphans, POV Third Person, Platonic Soulmates, almost canon, dom!naru, sub!sasu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:02:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28837488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bornfromanxietea/pseuds/bornfromanxietea
Summary: Sasuke hates a lot of things, and he doesn't particularly like anything. Where does Naruto, the annoying loser, fit in that scale? The more he sticks around, the harder it is for Sasuke to draw that line.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Series: Before I Leave You [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2185143
Comments: 16
Kudos: 57





	Before I Leave You

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this one shot because, like many people, I wasn't satisfied with the ending we were given for these two. So I tried to tell NaruSasu's story the way that I think it would go in a universe where they weren't ninjas, just normal people. But I tried to stay as close to canon as possible, if that makes sense. Parts of the storyline will seem familiar, and other parts won't. Also, I made Sasuke more submissive because that's how I feel it would go in their universe (I just can't see him initiating anything, no matter how edgy he is!). And the boys play music, I thought that would be fun to incorporate. 
> 
> Anyways, I wrote this purely for fun so it's a little different from my normal writing style. And if anyone who knows me reads this, I'm sorry in advance! Enjoy.

* * *

His name is Sasuke Uchiha. He hates a lot of things, and he doesn’t particularly like anything. 

Except for music. It’s the only thing in his life that actually isn’t boring or makes him feel like ending it all. He’s been playing bass guitar for about half of his life, so it just became a part of him.

He guesses there are a few people that he tolerates. The first being his older brother. He is his role model, and he taught him everything he knows. But he left him here, alone, and he just couldn’t forgive him for that. The other is Shikamaru. He isn’t his friend, by any means, but he is unproblematic. They seem to feel the same way about the nuisances of life. He plays the drums, so Sasuke guesses that they can relate in that sense, too.

But of the people that he hates the most, it would have to be Naruto. His whole demeanor is so bothersome. He is loud and not very smart. Why would Sasuke want to hang out with a loser?

Sasuke first met Naruto when they were children, about seven years old. Sasuke didn’t have to go into an orphanage because his older brother was there to take care of him at the time, but he often visited the home for some community service that he was required to do. When he first saw Naruto, he stared at Sasuke with those large sapphire eyes. He kept trying to talk to him and challenge him to his stupid games. It was so annoying to Sasuke, but Naruto didn’t know any better. 

Sasuke stopped going to the orphanage after a few years because he started middle school. He didn’t know what happened to the blonde after that. He graduated high school without any trace of Naruto. He was glad that he didn’t have to see his ugly face. Until four months ago when Naruto showed up at a certain record store in the village. It just happened to be the record store that Sasuke spent most of his time in. 

Sasuke was picking through a stack of records when he heard the bell ring above the door, signaling a new customer. Naruto had pushed open the door with an unnecessary amount of force. Sasuke looked up and instantly recognized those eyes. 

Annoyed, he put his records down and moved to an area in the back behind a shelf of tapes. It would be troublesome if Naruto saw Sasuke in the store. 

“Hey,” Sasuke hears a heavy voice from behind him. He already knows who it is.

He turns around on his heels, slowly, and furrows his eyebrows.

“What?” Sasuke asks, with brimming irritation.

“Can you help me find something?” Naruto asks him, with genuine eyes.

“Does it look like I work here?” Sasuke says, the bitterness coming through his voice.

Naruto takes a look around the store and returns his gaze to Sasuke.

“Well, you’re kinda the only one in here,” he responds with a chuckle. How annoying. Sasuke stares at him for a moment, hoping he would give up and walk away. But Naruto’s expression is one of determination. He’s not going anywhere.

“Fine, what are you looking for?” Sasuke reluctantly gives in.

“Favourite Worst Nightmare,” he replies, with a noticeable gid in his voice.

Arctic Monkeys. Not bad taste for a loser.

“Follow me,” Sasuke says as he walks past him and leads him to the right section.

Naruto has gotten to be taller than Sasuke, only by an inch or two. And he seems more mature than he was when they were kids. Though Sasuke thinks that it’s probably some act that he’s putting on, since he’s still annoying. 

“Here,” Sasuke says plainly, as they made their way in front of the right section.

“Thanks so much,” Naruto says, then starts looking through the albums.

Sasuke stands there watching Naruto sift through the records. This is strange. Naruto hasn’t made any indication that he even knows who Sasuke is. 

“Uh,” Naruto starts. “Did you wanna say something?” 

This jerk really doesn’t remember him. Irritated, Sasuke turns and walks back to the front of the store behind the counter.

Why is Sasuke even mad? It’s better this way. Now Sasuke doesn’t have to worry about Naruto sticking around. He can keep his life unproblematic. 

A few minutes pass when Sasuke notices Naruto walk up to the counter, presenting his chosen record.

“Will that be all?” Sasuke asks.

“Yeah,” Naruto responds, cooly.

Sasuke rings him up and Naruto pays in cash. Sasuke puts the record in a plastic bag and hands it to him across the counter.

“Thanks,” Naruto says.

Sasuke nods, waiting for him to leave. But he’s still here. Naruto stands in front of the counter just staring through Sasuke with those sapphire eyes.

“So what made you choose to work at a record store, Sasuke?” he asked him with the same blank look on his face.

Sasuke’s eyebrows raise in shock. This dobe knew who he was the whole time. He always finds ways to get on his nerves. But he can’t show Naruto that it bothered him. Sasuke doesn’t even know why it bothers himself in the first place.

“I like music,” he answers honestly, but with the least amount of additional information as possible to prevent the conversation from continuing.

“Obviously,” Naruto laughed. “But not just anyone who likes music works in a record store.”

“I’m not _anyone_ ,” was his response.

“I know,” Naruto said with a grin that was so small it was almost unnoticeable. He still refused to leave the store, so Sasuke decided to amuse him to move this along.

“I play bass,” Sasuke says, uninterested. 

“No way,” Naruto’s face brightens up. “I play guitar,” he offers, matter-of-factly. God, he is still so annoying.

“I don’t care,” Sasuke closes his eyes. “Are you done here?”

“Wait,” Naruto stops him. “We should play together sometime.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because we aren’t friends.”

“Well that’s a little rude, don’t you think?” Naruto retorts with a sour look on his face.

Sasuke crosses his arms over his chest, in defiance. 

“Come on, why not? It’s not like you have anything better to do,” Naruto whines.

“You don’t know anything about me,” Sasuke says, snapping his eyes open.

Naruto’s pestering look changes to one of discouragement. It then shifts to reflect a wave of bubbling anger.

“You know that’s not true,” he says, tone even, and a slight frown.

Sasuke thinks for a second. He guesses that he might be overly spiteful to Naruto, especially since it’s their first time meeting in years. He takes a deep breath.

“Fine,” Sasuke huffs. “But I’m really busy.”

Naruto’s face animates instantly. Sasuke rolls his eyes. Naruto is such a good actor. So annoying. 

“I’ll work around your schedule! Let me know when you’re practicing,” Naruto almost yells.

Sasuke nods and watches as Naruto turns to head out of the store. He stops abruptly.

“Wait, you’re gonna need my number,” he says with a cheeky grin.

Now, Naruto keeps sticking around like a fly. It’s been about two weeks since their encounter. He keeps stopping by the record store to check when Sasuke will be free. And when he is not there, he won’t stop texting him. It’s so troublesome. 

**LOSER [2:14pm] Are you free today???**

**LOSER [2:15pm] Let's play together.**

**LOSER [2:45pm] When are you going to practice?**

**SASUKE [3:04pm] Right now.**

**LOSER [3:05pm] Can I join?**

**SASUKE [4:56pm] I already finished.**

This went on almost every day. It was so bothersome to Sasuke. He didn’t have the time or energy to respond to Naruto every day. Can’t he take a hint?

After a few more days of his begging, Naruto stopped coming around to the record shop as much. Sasuke only got texts from him occasionally. It was nice to finally get some quiet.

Sasuke plopped down on the sofa in his living room with his bass in his hands, picking at the strings. He let the deep melody fill his mind in relaxation. He could lay there like this for hours.

All of a sudden, Sasuke hears the sound of a pair of keys jingling in the lock of the front door. He sits up straight and looks at the door, half expecting a masked murderer to barge in and kill him. Sasuke has trained for this, it should be easy to take him out, in theory. But only one person that Sasuke knows has the keys to his house. Their house.

Sasuke put his bass down and stood up, facing the front door. He wiped the palms of his hands on the sides of his pants and clenched both of his fists into balls. The door opened almost too casually, and his older brother walked through, like he hadn’t been missing for four years. 

“Hey, Sasuke,” he greeted, with a grin on his face. 

Sasuke didn’t know what to do. Every bone in his body wanted him to punch the man at the door, yet his brain was telling him to cry. All Sasuke could do was stand in the living room, as still as the night air outside. 

“What are you doing here, Itachi?” Sasuke manages to spit out, voice almost breaking. 

“Am I not allowed to come home and check on my little brother?” Itachi says, nonchalantly. No. He has no right, not anymore.

Itachi sets down his bag and starts to walk towards Sasuke. 

Sasuke puts up his hand in defense. “Stop,” he says, as angrily as he can. “This is not your home anymore.”

Itachi pauses in his movements. A smirk spreads across his face. He continues walking towards his little brother.

“I swear, you better stop right now,” Sasuke chokes on his words.

“Or what?” Itachi says as he inches closer. Sasuke glances around the room and spots an old baseball bat by the stairs. He grabs it and resumes his defensive position in the center of the room. “Baseball bat? Handy choice,” Itachi laughs as he maneuvers around him. Sasuke gets dizzy as he turns in circles, tracking his brother’s movements.

“You don’t get to just come back here anytime you please. Not after what you did to me,” Sasuke yells, hot tears threatening to stream down his face. As much as he wanted to control his own actions, he couldn’t. 

“I didn’t do anything. It’s all in your head,” Itachi says, voice calm. Manipulative. 

Sasuke lowers the baseball bat at his brother’s words. Maybe it _was_ his fault that Itachi left him. But Sasuke needed his brother more than anything. 

It’s not his fault.

Sasuke raises the bat back above his head. “Leave, now. This is your last warning, Itachi.”

Itachi laughs and takes another step towards Sasuke. He lunges at his older brother with as much force as he can and swings the bat. Itachi, trained in close combat, dodges the attack and uses his right leg to kick Sasuke backward, sending him crashing through the coffee table, knocking all the air out of his lungs. Sasuke feels pieces of glass sink into his skin. He struggles to stand up, catches his breath, and regains his composure. 

“Stop this, Sasuke, before you get hurt.”

“Shut up,” Sasuke forces out. “I don’t want you here!”

Something in Itachi’s eyes changes for only a second. Sasuke could almost recognize in the glimmer in Itachi’s eyes the older brother that he used to be. Where Sasuke felt safe, and loved, and not alone. But it was all just an illusion, Sasuke knew that. He swings the bat again, missing Itachi completely and putting a large hole in the wall next to the kitchen. The bat gets stuck, and Sasuke can’t manage to pull it out. Itachi takes this opportunity to release Sasuke’s grip from the bat in the wall and punches him hard in the jaw. Sasuke hits the floor and clutches his face in pain. He pushes himself to rest his back against the couch.

Sasuke’s eyes are glossy, but he can still make out the outline of his brother picking up his backpack, and he hears the sound of the door opening and then closing again. Did his words reach his brother? Sasuke puts his head in between his knees and releases all the emotions he has bottled up in him. He doesn’t know if you would call it screaming or crying, but it was definitely somewhere in between.

Sasuke’s first instinct was to pick up his phone.

**SASUKE [10:08pm] Let's play.**

**LOSER [10:11pm] Right now? It's kinda late.**

**SASUKE [10:11pm] Forget it.**

**LOSER [10:12pm] No, I'm coming.**

Sasuke doesn’t know why he texted him. He just knew that he wanted to play, and he didn’t want to be alone right now.

He sits on the couch with his head in his hands when he hears a knock at the door.

“It’s open,” Sasuke says, flatly.

The front door opens and a tired-looking Naruto stands in the doorframe. His hair is disheveled like he just woke up, and his shirt is sitting lazily around his collar. He holds his guitar in his right hand and runs his other hand through his blonde hair. It didn’t take long for him to notice the mess.

“What the hell happened here?” Naruto asks, concern growing on his face. “Did you get robbed?”

“I wish,” Sasuke says from the middle of the room. 

Naruto walks in deeper and looks for the light switch. He turns it on and notices the bad shape that Sasuke is in.

“God, you look terrible,” Naruto says, almost giving away his brimming laughter.

“Shut up, loser.” Sasuke manages to get out.

“Let me help you clean this up,” Naruto starts.

“No, I got it,” Sasuke says as he starts to get up. However, he winces and staggers backward, back onto the couch. The pain is too unbearable for him to move on his own.

“Hey,” Naruto says as he walks closer to Sasuke. “Stay there, I’ll look for a first aid kit.”

“I told you to come here so we could play music, not for you to play nurse,” Sasuke spits out before clutching at his chest from the effort it took to make the retort.

“Very funny,” Naruto says, without laughing. “Where’s the first aid kit?” 

“In the cabinet in the bathroom. Down the hall to the left,” Sasuke reluctantly gives in.

Naruto puts down his guitar next to Sasuke’s bass and walks down the hall towards the bathroom. He returns promptly with the first aid kit in his hands.

“Okay, take off your shirt,” he orders.

“What the hell. No way,” Sasuke snaps. Once again, pain shoots through his chest and he clutches the spot under his ribs.

Naruto gives him a hard look and he finally agrees. Sasuke tries to remove his shirt himself, but he can’t get his arms over his head without the pain being too much.

“Here, let me do it,” Naruto says.

He grabs the rim of Sasuke’s t-shirt and pulls it up, stopping to make sure it goes over his head properly and doesn’t hurt him.

“You’re so stubborn,” Naruto states. “You know that?”

Sasuke doesn’t respond. Naruto opens the first aid kit and pulls out a roll of bandages. “You probably have either a broken rib or a bruised diaphragm,” he diagnoses. “But I’m not a doctor, so you’ll have to get it checked out tomorrow. I know someone who can help.” 

He uses a pair of tweezers to pick at the broken pieces of glass stuck in Sasuke’s skin. He winces at the pain, and Naruto apologizes, but he continues to remove the glass. Sasuke clenches his teeth to prevent himself from showing any kind of weakness. Naruto finishes removing the glass and uses a cotton ball to disinfect the cuts. Sasuke flinches from the sting of the alcohol. Naruto looks at him apologetically. Once he finished, he stretched the bandage out and wrapped it around Sasuke’s upper body, securing it with a pin. “There,” he says, proudly. "Now let’s take care of your face.”

“I’m fine,” Sasuke objects, as he starts to get up. “I’ll just go wash my face.” 

Naruto pushes him back down onto the couch. “No, I’ll do it.”

He goes back to the bathroom and returns with a wet washcloth. He kneels down in front of Sasuke and presses the washcloth down over his wounds. Sasuke thinks that his injuries aren’t even that serious and that he’s probably just bruised. And he is not bleeding that much. Sasuke watches Naruto as he cleans his face. Naruto’s eyes are focused on his work, trailing Sasuke’s skin as he dabs around his face. Sasuke watches how with every movement, Naruto bites down on his lower lip in concentration. His touch is gentle. Like he is trying not to hurt him. Sapphire eyes meet Sasuke’s dark ones. He looks away.

Naruto backs up from Sasuke’s face and reaches into the first aid kit. He grabs a square bandage and tapes it to the area of his jaw where Itachi hit him.

“All done,” he says under his breath.

“Thank you,” Sasuke says as he reaches to put his shirt back on.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Naruto says. “It would just hurt you more to put it back on.”

Valid point, Sasuke thinks to himself as he drops his shirt back on the couch beside him.

Naruto stands up and walks to the kitchen behind him. What is he doing over there? Sasuke turns his head and Naruto walks back over to him with a broom in his hand.

“I told you that you don’t have to do that,” Sasuke says, trying his best to sound authoritative through the pain. “Let’s just play.”

Naruto hesitates before putting down the broom and joining Sasuke back in the center of the living room. “Fine,” he gives in. “But you aren’t playing anything tonight. You just went through some trauma.” Sasuke rolls his eyes.

He sits on the floor across from Sasuke and the remains of his coffee table, guitar in his lap. “What song should I play?” Naruto asks him.

“I don’t care,” Sasuke answers.

Naruto thinks for a few moments, then positions his fingers on the strings. His first strum fills the room with a sound that Sasuke has never heard before. His playing is surprisingly, really good. He continues strumming and Sasuke closes his eyes, listening to the bright sound coming from Naruto’s guitar, his mind wandering to different places. Sasuke must be delirious from the pain. For just a moment, he actually thought that he could tolerate the blonde.

He opened his eyes and Naruto wasn’t there. He sits up from the couch and rubs his eyes. There’s a blanket over him and a sticky note attached to his forehead. That idiot. Sasuke pulls it off and reads it.

> _I cleaned up here, don't worry about repaying me. Go see Sakura at the hospital, she can help. Thanks for listening to me play._
> 
> _-Naruto_

Sasuke looks around his living room and sees that all the broken glass was gone, and any indication that he ever had a coffee table left along with it. The debris from the drywall where he broke it with his bat was all swept up. The only thing left was the hole itself. Well, Naruto is not a carpenter, Sasuke thinks to himself. But he told him that he would clean up himself. There’s nothing Sasuke hates more than sacrificing his independence. He has been doing things on his own since he was fifteen, and he sure as hell didn’t need any help now. That loser gets on his nerves. But Sasuke couldn’t help the small smile that spread across his face.

He went to the hospital as soon as he got dressed. He asked for the Sakura girl that Naruto recommended to help. He sat in the waiting room until a girl, about the same age as him, with light pink hair and mint green eyes opened the door. 

“Uchiha Sasuke,” she called out.

Sasuke follows her into a private room where she starts by checking his blood pressure and vitals. 

“How are you today, Sasuke?” she asks brightly.

“Fine,” he answers.

The smile on her face wavers, but nonetheless she stays as cheery as before.

“Naruto has told me so much about you,” she offers. Sasuke rolls his eyes. What does Naruto even have to say about him? He barely knows Sasuke.

She takes off his shirt and starts to remove his bandages for his evaluation. She has him lay down on the table and gently presses into his ribcage, presumably to check for broken ribs. Her hands are cold, and send a chill through Sasuke’s body. He can see her face flush with each touch.

“Good news,” she exclaims. “No broken ribs. You just have a bruised diaphragm,” she says as she removes her hands from Sasuke’s chest.

“I figured as much,” he responds, remembering the assumption Naruto had made about his injuries last night. 

She heads to a cabinet and pulls out a jar of medication. She hands them to Sasuke and gives him a wink. “Use these twice a day for about five days, and you should be as good as new. Just don’t tell anyone you got them from me.” She reaches up with her hand and puts her index finger in front of her lips, indicating for him to keep this a secret. He understands now why Naruto sent him to her. 

“Thank you,” Sasuke says graciously as he gets up from the table.

“Anytime, Sasuke,” she blushes. “Let me know if you ever need anything else, yeah?”

He nods and heads out the door. What a strange girl. Hopefully, he won’t have to see her again. Unless his brother comes back around again.

After his doctor’s visit, Sasuke heads to work. The record store is as quiet as usual. He half expected Naruto, who had memorized his work schedule by now, to show up and bother him again. But he never came. 

After work, he headed to Shikamaru’s to play together. They worked on a few things for synchronization, but Sasuke couldn’t stop thinking about that dobe. His playing last night was unbelievable. 

“Hey Shikamaru,” Sasuke begins. “Do you remember that loser from the orphanage?”

“Which one?” Shikamaru asks, uninterested.

“The blonde kid, really annoying, kinda dumb.”

“The kid that wouldn’t leave you alone? What about him?”

“I heard him play guitar last night,” Sasuke explains. “He’s not terrible.”

“And?” Shikamaru asks, pulling out a cigarette from his back pocket.

“I don’t know,” he replies, honestly. Why was he telling Shikamaru this? 

They stayed in silence for a few moments in Shikamaru’s garage. Sasuke didn’t expect any type of response from him. He wasn’t friends with Naruto so it wouldn’t matter to him. Quite frankly, Sasuke wasn’t friends with Naruto either. 

“You should tell him to come play with us,” Shikamaru breaks the silence.

“What?” Sasuke asks, growing both confused and slightly annoyed with his suggestion. He doesn’t want to see Naruto every day. He can barely tolerate him enough now.

“Calm down,” he says in defense. “Just a thought.”

They pack up for the day and Sasuke heads home. He heats up some leftovers from the fridge and sits down at the table. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Shikamaru said earlier. Would he really be okay if Naruto practiced with them? It’s not like he would drag them down. Sasuke was sure Naruto could keep up if he really tried. He pulls out his phone.

**SASUKE [8:10pm] Did you want to start practicing with me and Shikamaru? He plays drums.**

**LOSER [8:12pm] HUH? Are you starting a band??**

**SASUKE [8:30pm] No.**

**LOSER [8:30pm] Okay. I'll do it.**

Sasuke put his phone back in his pocket and cleaned up dinner. He headed upstairs and got in the shower to get ready for bed. As he cleaned his body, he ran his hands over the bruise on his chest. It’s already starting to feel better after just a day. It no longer hurts from movement and by the pressure under his palms. He only feels the slight ache from his sore body. That medicine is something else. He lifts his hands to his face where Naruto had cleaned it with the towel. Sasuke slides his fingers over the bruise on his jawline and remembers Naruto’s blue eyes fixated on him, close to his face, his steady breath warm on Sasuke’s skin. He feels a chill down his spine, despite the hot water from the shower running down his body. He sticks his head under the stream of water and scrubs his face with his hands. Sasuke can still feel Naruto’s hands on his skin. He has to get rid of his lingering touch. He turns off the water and steps out of the shower, wrapping his towel around his waist. He leans against the marble sink and stares at his reflection in the mirror. His bruises are already almost completely faded and his cuts are healing nicely. Sasuke never got to properly thank Naruto for helping him, even when he told him not to. He heads back to his room and dries off, putting on a pair of sweatpants and a clean t-shirt. He lays down in his bed and grabs his phone off the bedside table. The screen glows brightly in his face, displaying the time. Sasuke wondered how long he was in the shower? He heads to the messaging app. 

**SASUKE [10:47pm] Thanks for yesterday.**

He doesn’t expect a reply back, since he figures Naruto must be asleep by now. He closes his eyes and rolls over. Sasuke hears a ding from his phone minutes later. He guesses Naruto must be awake after all.

**LOSER [10:49pm] Of course.**

**SASUKE [10:50] Did I wake you?**

**LOSER [10:50pm] Not really. I wasn’t asleep for long.**

**SASUKE [10:50pm] Okay.**

**LOSER [10:58pm] Did you wanna talk?**

**SASUKE [10:59pm] No.**

**LOSER [10:59pm] Okay.**

**SASUKE [11:02pm] Maybe another time.**

**LOSER [11:02pm] Okay. Night.**

Sasuke had just finished restocking the shelves when a familiar head of blonde hair walked into the record store, his guitar in hand. 

“Hey, are you ready to go?” he asks with a grin so large it almost took over his whole face. 

“Yeah,” Sasuke says as he grabs the keys to lock up the store and slings his bass over his shoulder.

They’ve been walking together to Shikamaru’s after Sasuke gets off of work for a few months now. Naruto thought it would be better to walk together in case Sasuke gets jumped again. Sasuke never did tell him what really happened at his house that day. Not that he didn’t want to, he just never had an opportunity to. Naruto talks so damn much that it’s hard for Sasuke to even say anything. It’s so annoying.

But today, Naruto seemed a little different. Sasuke watched Naruto as he walked next to him. Nothing seemed to be physically wrong with him. Maybe he had a bad day. But he seemed fine when he walked into the store a little bit ago.

“Are you checking me out?” Naruto interrupts his train of thought, as he snaps back to the present. Naruto hadn’t even turned to look at Sasuke once, how did he know Sasuke was looking at him?  
“No, dobe,” Sasuke said defensively as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

Naruto lets out a laugh and continues staring forwards. 

“You just seem different today,” Sasuke offers.

“Different _good_ or different _bad_?” he asks, curious.

“ _Less annoying,_ different,” Sasuke replies with a glare.

“Ouch,” Naruto exclaims as he slows his pace. He clutches his chest. “I’m hurt.”

Sasuke rolls his eyes. He doesn’t slow down for him and continues walking. He hears Naruto’s footsteps quicken as he appears again behind him.

“I was just thinking, that’s all,” Naruto says sheepishly. What’s with his weird tone?

“About what?” Sasuke asks, confused.

“About you,” he says, turning to look at Sasuke.

Sasuke almost gags at his statement. Naruto erupts into a fit of laughter. 

“You should have seen your face,” he says as he clutches his stomach from laughing so hard. He wipes a tear from his eye. This idiot. He must have noticed the irritation on Sasuke’s face because he stopped laughing almost as quickly as he started. “No but seriously,” Naruto continues. “You’ve been kinda distant lately. Is everything okay?”

Now is as good a time as any, Sasuke supposes.

“It was my brother,” he says, cooly.

Naruto turns to look at him, a confused look on his face.

“That day, at my house,” Sasuke answers the question that he knew he would ask anyway.

“Itachi did all that?” Naruto responds, with a look of doubt on his face. 

“The damage to me, yes. To the living room, not really,” Sasuke replies.

“Uh, what happened?” Naruto asked next, in a tone that suggested that Sasuke didn’t have to answer if he didn’t want to.

“He came back after leaving me alone for over four years, and acted like nothing was wrong with that.” Naruto didn’t interrupt, he just listened intently to what Sasuke had to say. He appreciated that. “I had to raise myself for the entirety of high school. I grew up practically alone through the most important years of my life. Do you know how hard that was? I am tired of people trying to tell me how I should or shouldn’t feel.” Sasuke stops his rant and glances at Naruto. All the anger in Sasuke’s body releases when he sees the look on Naruto’s face. Of course, he knows how it feels. Sasuke felt like an idiot. “Sorry, I know you had it even harder than me,” he adds, trying to retrace his steps.

“Don’t apologize,” Naruto says with a light chuckle. “It wasn’t as bad as you think.” He sheepishly rubs the back of his head. “But your feelings are completely valid. You loved your brother, and he removed himself from your life without you having a say in it.”

Finally, Sasuke thought, someone else gets it. 

“And fuck everyone else,” Naruto says while flashing both middle fingers in the air towards the village. “Feel however you want to feel, about whatever you want.”

Sasuke couldn’t help but smile at his obnoxious personality. “Fuck everyone else,” he says under his breath while joining Naruto in flipping off the village. 

“We’ve had some really shitty lives, but let’s make the most of it,” Naruto declares, as he holds out a fist to Sasuke.

Instinctively, he meets his own with Naruto’s. Naruto’s face lit up like nothing Sasuke has ever seen before. How can this idiot be so easy to talk to?

After leaving Shikamaru’s place, they walked back to Sasuke’s house almost in complete silence. Sasuke approaches the doorstep and is about to place the keys inside the lock when he notices Naruto isn’t following him. It’s not that Sasuke wanted him to come inside with him, it just seemed natural that he would follow. He turns around. Naruto is standing awkwardly in front of his house, a few feet away.

“What?” Sasuke asks.

“What do you want to do tomorrow?” Naruto asks him, nervously.

“Why?” he responds, concerned with Naruto’s change in mood.

“For your birthday,” he starts, confusion taking over his nerves. “Did you forget?”

Sasuke didn’t forget. He just doesn’t care about trivial things like that. 

“No, I just don’t celebrate it.” 

“What do you mean?” Naruto remarks, with an exasperated look on his face. “It’s the most important day of the year. Let’s do some-”

“No,” Sasuke interjects and turns the key to his front door.

“Come on, Sasuke. Let’s get breakfast or something at least.”

He turns once more and looks at Naruto’s face. His sapphire eyes are pleading. 

“Fine.” Sasuke slams the door in his face. He can hear the sound of Naruto’s footsteps as he runs in the opposite direction.

Sasuke goes to sleep, not expecting anything to change tomorrow.

He wakes up to see a single text on his phone.

**LOSER [9:04am] Happy Birthday!! ;0**

**LOSER [9:15am] Get dressed and come outside.**

Sasuke checks the time. It’s 9:30. He hopes that Naruto hasn’t been standing outside his house all this time. He walks over to his bedroom window and pulls back the curtains. Sure enough, Naruto was standing there outside with a beanie on, in the middle of summer, nonetheless. Maybe the idiot is balding. Naruto notices movement in the window and waves at Sasuke from below, with that stupid grin on his face. Sasuke closes the curtain and throws some clothes on. He doesn’t know why Naruto is making such a big deal out of today. He really couldn’t care less. 

He opens the front door and is greeted by Naruto, with his arms open wide.

“I’m not hugging you,” Sasuke states flatly as he locks the door behind him. 

“Whatever,” he laughs it off, although Sasuke can tell he’s hurt by his blatant rejection. 

He follows Naruto off his front porch and they start walking further into the village. 

“Where are we going?” he asks.

“I was thinking we could get donuts,” Naruto says excitedly.

“Too much sugar,” he objects.

“Bagels?” Naruto tries.

Sasuke thinks for a second. “Fine.”

They walk through the village and approach a donut shop. Sasuke immediately stops in his tracks. “Naruto,” he begins, annoyed.

“They sell bagels here too,” Naruto utters, as he rubs the back of his head apologetically.

They walk inside and Sasuke orders a plain bagel with cream cheese. Naruto orders two glazed twist donuts. They grab a table outside and sit across from each other. Although it is still morning, Sasuke notices that it is quite warm outside. He can feel the heat from the sun causing small beads of sweat to accumulate on the bridge of his nose, and feels streaks run down the back of his neck. He watches Naruto take a sip of his iced tea from across the table, noticing the leftover wetness on his upper lip. Naruto sets the now empty glass on the table and stands up abruptly.

“Let’s go,” he says, beckoning Sasuke to follow him.

“I only agreed to breakfast,” Sasuke shrugs off his suggestion.

“No,” Naruto shakes his head. “You’re stuck with me the whole day.”

“Where are you taking me now?”

Naruto doesn’t say anything more. He just starts walking off without him. Reluctantly, Sasuke follows him, but Naruto slows down eventually to match his pace. 

They walk through the village for what feels like hours when it probably has only been a few minutes. This heat is really bothersome. Sasuke would rather be inside on a day like this. He looks around at the shops and food stands surrounding him. They are filled with lively civilians, young and old, with cheerful grins on their faces. Sasuke envies them. He hates that they get to live their lives so carefree when he was stuck without a real family, and with a shitty brother.

Sasuke barely noticed when they left the main sector of the village. The large groups of people slowly trickled down to just a few, and then none altogether. Sasuke wondered where they were.

Naruto stops in front of him. “Okay, close your eyes.”

“No, I don’t know where we are,” Sasuke objects.  
“That’s kind of the point,” Naruto retorts. “Plus, we’re not there yet.”

“Are you going to murder me or something?” Sasuke asks, pragmatically.

“No, just do it,” Naruto pushes once again.

“How am I supposed to see where I’m going?” Sasuke tries.

“Do you trust me?” Naruto questions, sapphire eyes unwavering.

Sasuke closes his own eyes in response. His body runs cold when he feels a rough, yet warm hand grab his. Sasuke flinches at first, but Naruto gives his hand a gentle squeeze, as if begging for Sasuke to trust him. He relaxes as soon as he is pulled along. 

Sasuke couldn’t tell how long they were walking. He only saw the different shades of light change from underneath his eyelids and the fluctuation between hot and cool air on his skin. He assumed they were walking through a forest, and the leaves of the tall trees were creating shade. The one thing that stayed constant was Naruto’s firm grip on Sasuke’s hand. He could tell that his own palms were growing sweatier with every second. Naruto must think it’s disgusting. It’s frustrating for Sasuke to not be able to wipe his palm on his jeans, but Naruto never let go once.

He starts to hear the faint sound of running water. A river? No, it’s larger than that. The sound grows loud enough to determine its identity. That, and the gentle mist coating Sasuke’s exposed skin. They stop walking and Naruto lets go of his hand.

“Open your eyes,” Naruto says, voice brimming with excitement.

Sasuke opens them and allows his vision to adjust. He squints up at the massive waterfall and his gaze follows its length.

“What do you think?” Naruto asks, expectantly.

“Uh, it’s big,” Sasuke answers.

“It’s amazing,” Naruto corrects him. Naruto takes a deep breath and releases it, taking in the fresh air. “Give me your phone.”

“What? Why?” 

“Just do it,” he says, a frown sporting his face.

As soon as Sasuke hands it to him, he instantly regrets it. Naruto uses both hands to shove Sasuke into the waterfall basin. He sinks into the water, flailing around to try and find the upright position. He resurfaces the water and chokes on the air as it refills his lungs. His ears clear and fill with the sound of maniacal laughter. Sasuke doesn’t even think before grabbing onto Naruto’s ankle and pulling him in as well. Naruto falls into the water and sinks the same as Sasuke did. A few seconds pass. Naruto is not coming back up. Dread starts to sweep over Sasuke. Is he drowning? He doesn’t know what to do.

Sasuke dives under the water and swims downwards looking for a head of blonde hair. The water only stings his eyes, and he can’t make out anything. His negative thoughts run through Sasuke’s head a million miles a second. What if he killed him? He never even learned CPR. Running out of air, he resurfaces and catches his breath. Sasuke runs his hands through his hair in panic. 

He feels two hands grab onto his shoulders and a weight added to his back. Sasuke topples over and is submerged under the water once again. He wrestles with the weight until he can finally get some air on his own. 

Sasuke coughs and wipes his eyes, and sees a cheery-looking Naruto in front of him. Sasuke can’t help the anger welling up inside.

He swims towards Naruto, reaching his hand in the air, smacking Naruto in the side of his head.

“Ouch!” he says, clutching the area right above his ear. 

“What the hell?” Sasuke explodes. “I thought you drowned, dobe!” 

“I’m right here,” Naruto chuckles. “It was just a joke.”

“You aren’t funny,” Sasuke huffs, turning to head back towards the shoreline. He almost makes it before he is stopped by a hand gripping the inner corner of his elbow. 

“Wait,” Naruto pleads, his look turning serious. “I’m sorry.”

Naruto stares at his face, his eyes searching Sasuke’s for any indication that he is forgiven. Sasuke breaks from Naruto’s grip and crosses his arms over his chest. This guy is so irritating.

Sasuke nods his head warily. Naruto’s face softens up again. “Thank you,” he says. “Follow me.”

Sasuke watches as Naruto wades through the water towards the waterfall. He turns around and notices that Sasuke hasn't moved yet. He motions for him to follow, and Sasuke reluctantly moves through the water after him. Naruto disappears behind the waterfall. Sasuke takes a breath and swims underneath it after him. 

When he resurfaces, he notices immediately how dark it is. It takes a while for his eyes to adjust. He blinks until he can make out Naruto a few feet in front of him, his back against the wall of what looks like a small cave. Sasuke swims over and leans against the spot next to him. They sit quietly, admiring the cave’s peaceful atmosphere.

“Why did you bring me here?” Sasuke asks, breaking the silence.

Naruto thinks for a few moments before responding, debating his next words carefully. “I never had a father,” Naruto began. “But the closest thing to a dad that I had, the man who I looked up to the most, used to bring me here a lot.”

Sasuke doesn’t interrupt his story. He just listens.

“He said it was for some kind of training. I didn’t really get it at first. He would make me sit in the water for hours every day to meditate or some crap like that,” Naruto chuckles at the fond memory. “But now I know why. I was very immature as a child. I was loud and impatient and closed-minded. This meditation showed me something that was louder than me, taught me patience, and taught me the perspective of something other than myself.”

He pauses for a moment, hesitating before going on. It seems to hurt him a lot to bring up these memories.

“This man passed away when I was sixteen. But before he left, he told me to share this place with someone, and teach them the same things that I learned,” Naruto explains.

Sasuke didn’t know what to say to his story. He decided with, “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you’re just as immature as I am,” Naruto remarks, with a smug grin.

“Shut up, loser,” Sasuke snaps back, rolling his eyes.

“No, but really,” Naruto finishes. “You’re quite the opposite of me. You need to learn how to tolerate those who are louder than you, and how to interact with those who test your patience, and to open your mind to other points of view about the things that you may not care too much about.”

Sasuke thought about this for a second. “He seems like a very wise man.” Sasuke chose to use the present tense because he believes that speaking of a person in the past tense devalues their merit. This man still is a great influence on Naruto, and he is impacting Sasuke too, even today. 

“He is,” Naruto responds, with a small smile. They sit quietly for a few more moments until Naruto starts fidgeting around in his pants. Sasuke thinks he looks ridiculous moving around like that under the water. Once satisfied, Naruto presents a fist from his pocket and reveals its contents. “Happy birthday, Sasuke.”

In his hand is a bracelet, seemingly made from black pearls, with gold accents. He gestures for Sasuke to hold out his hand. He sticks out his arm and Naruto slides the bracelet over his hand to settle nicely around his wrist. It fits perfectly.

“Do you like it?” Naruto asks, struggling to hide his nervousness.

Sasuke turns the bracelet over on his wrist and examines it carefully. The design is done so well. And it’s a color that Sasuke doesn’t mind either.

“You shouldn’t have gotten me anything,” he states, with a hint of defiance in his voice.

Naruto looked almost shocked. From the little light provided by the cave, Sasuke can see Naruto’s face inch ever so slightly forward, his sapphire eyes staring into Sasuke’s coal ones in reassurance. “You’re my best friend, of course I got you something.” 

With his words, Sasuke’s heart stops beating. Best friend? Does he even consider this idiot his friend? Time seems to pass in slow motion as Sasuke feels some aching feeling spreading across his stomach, and he feels swallowed up by the dim lighting of the cave. Is this what it feels like to have a friend? Sasuke doesn’t like it.

“I’m leaving,” Sasuke mutters under his breath, as he immediately dives underwater to escape any objections. He doesn’t come up for air until he feels his hand graze the shoreline. He pushes himself up out of the water and starts trudging along through the grass towards a direction he assumed the village to be. As soon as he reached the edge of the clearing at the entrance to the forest, he heard his name called from behind him. 

“Sasuke, wait!” Naruto shouts as he pushes himself out of the water. “You can’t leave yet.”

“Why not?” Sasuke asks, on the borderline of irritation.

“You-you’re going the wrong way,” Naruto stutters, pointing in the direction of the actual path back to the village. Sasuke crosses his arms over his chest and begins walking in that direction. “Wait!” Naruto interjects again. “You can’t walk back like that. You’ll catch a cold.”

Sasuke looks down his own soaked clothing and notices the large puddle of water forming underneath his feet, soaking into the grass below. This is so annoying. He trudges back to where Naruto stands and sits down on the edge of the shoreline, letting the sun air-dry his clothes.

“You’re not gonna be able to head back anytime soon like that,” Sasuke hears a muffled voice from behind him. Naruto is standing with his wet shirt halfway over his head, as he struggles to keep it from clinging to his face. His exposed skin shines from the sun’s rays, reflecting on the droplets of water. Sasuke stands up and walks in front of Naruto, offering to help detach him from his shirt. He slides his index finger under the rim of Naruto’s collar and pulls upwards as Naruto does the same from the back. The blonde’s face is revealed, slightly pink in color from overexposure to the sun, and his sapphire eyes open to meet Sasuke’s.

“You look terrible,” Sasuke says, commenting on his blonde strands of hair now formed into spikes, sticking up in all directions. Sasuke averts his gaze and walks back towards the waterfall. He removes his own shirt, with less difficulty than Naruto had experienced, and wrings it out into the pool of water.

Sasuke hears footsteps behind him grow closer. Naruto stands beside him at the shoreline, squeezing the water out of his own shirt. Out of the corner of Sasuke’s eye, he notices Naruto then starts to unzip his jeans. He looks away, and focuses on wringing out his shirt. Naruto shuffles beside him, fully removing his pants, and starts to wring them out.

“You’ve been going at that shirt for a while,” he whispers, chuckling to himself. Naruto sets down his clothes and lays down in a patch of sun.

Sasuke stops his movements, realizing as well. His face grows warm. It’s too hot today. He thinks he must be getting a sunburn too. Sasuke lays out his t-shirt in the sun behind them and removes his jeans as well. He wrings them out quickly and lays them next to his shirt. He stands at the shoreline, looking into the water.

“You’re gonna be standing there a while,” Naruto begins. “You might wanna sit down.”

“If you wouldn’t have pushed me in with my clothes on, we would be gone by now,” Sasuke counters, furrowing his brows.

“It’s not like you would’ve stripped for me,” Naruto says, suggestively. He laughs at his own joke.

This idiot makes Sasuke’s blood boil. But he isn’t wrong. Sasuke admits he would not have wanted to get in the water, had Naruto given him the choice. Reluctantly, he joins him off to the side, in the nice patch of sun. They lay there for a while, listening to the roar of the waterfall and watching the clouds pass by. Sasuke closes his eyes. It is really relaxing to him. He can’t tell how much time has passed. Sasuke feels a hand nudge his shoulder softly. He opens his eyes and Naruto is crouching above his head. He is now fully clothed and looks ready to leave. Sasuke wonders if Naruto was just watching him this whole time.

“We should head back now,” Naruto says softly.

Sasuke sits up and looks around. The sun is no longer at its peak and hides behind the forest trees. He stands up and notices how sore his body feels, presumably from the wrestling match when they first entered the water. He staggers over towards his clothes and pulls them over his body. Sure enough, they are dry now. Naruto hands Sasuke his phone and they head back to the village together. 

They walk back mostly in silence, aside from the occasional remark from Naruto about something that Sasuke didn’t really care about. But as he talked, Sasuke noticed how he grew less and less annoyed with his rambling. It seemed like Naruto was passionate about all these things, and his face would light up every time he would get excited. Sasuke doesn’t like a lot of things, but he finds it comforting when Naruto smiles. It means that people like them, who have had shitty cards dealt to them, can actually find some kind of enjoyment in life. Since Naruto chose Sasuke to vex, and he can’t seem to get rid of him, he can live vicariously through Naruto’s happiness.

As they near Sasuke’s neighborhood, Naruto asks, “How was your birthday?”

Sasuke thinks for a moment. He never really thought about his birthday being anything special. It was just another year around the sun to him. But he recalls all of the day’s events. Breakfast, seeing the waterfall, and receiving his gift. These were things that Sasuke has not done since he was young. 

“It felt nice to not be alone,” Sasuke opens up to the blonde.

Naruto smiles his signature smile, his eyes crinkling at the edges. “I’m glad.”

When Naruto had left Sasuke, it was around three in the afternoon. Sasuke prepared himself a simple late-lunch and relaxed in the living room after an eventful morning. He flipped through the channels on the television, through the news, cooking, and sports. Sasuke wasn’t interested in any of this. The time seemed to pass by very slowly when he wasn’t doing anything significant. When he wasn’t with Naruto.

After a while, he settles on heading up to his bedroom and picking up his bass. Nothing Sasuke could do was more riveting than music. He closes the door, sits on his neatly made bed, and begins to play. 

Sasuke was so engrossed in the sounds of his music that he lost track of time. He looks outside his window and notices that the sun had already set, and the moon was peeking from behind the trees. He wonders how long he had been playing for. He sets down his bass and grabs his cellphone. There are three missed messages glowing on the screen.

**LOSER [7:18pm] Make sure you eat dinner. You forget sometimes.**

Sasuke thinks about it. He hadn’t remembered to cook anything for dinner, as he was so focused on practicing. He smiles to himself and mentally thanks Naruto for the reminder. It’s such a small thing, however, Sasuke feels a growing warmness in his stomach. He decides to check the other messages before heading back downstairs to prepare a meal.

**ITACHI [8:25pm] Im comng home nrw**

**ITACHI [8:26pm] Pack yuor shit**

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Sasuke whispers under his breath before hearing the sound of the front door swinging open. He pockets his phone and rushes down the stairs. Itachi stands in the kitchen, raiding the fridge.

“Why are you here, Itachi?” Sasuke seethes. 

Itachi looks up from the refrigerator and acknowledges Sasuke’s presence. “Oh, hey little brother.”

“What are these text messages about?” Sasuke asks, walking closer to Itachi.

Itachi stops his search and looks up at the ceiling, thinking about his answer. Finally coming up with something, he blows out air into his brother’s face. Sasuke could immediately tell he was drunk. If it wasn’t for the typos in the messages, his breath reeking of alcohol would do the trick. “It’s family stuff,” Itachi explains. “We have to go live with a distant relative now.”

Sasuke couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. “What relatives?” Sasuke questions. “We don’t have any family anymore.”

“It’s a business thing,” Itachi slurs, setting down the jars and boxes of leftover food on the counter. “I’m taking over as head of the clan!” His voice echoes off the walls. 

“You aren’t fit to be a leader of anything,” Sasuke argues, attempting to put food back inside the fridge. Itachi continues to grab cans out of the cabinet and pack them into his backpack, not listening to his brother’s objection. “Why does that mean we have to leave?” Sasuke continues, growing irritated with Itachi’s vagueness.

“In order to train for the position I have to be closer to neutral territory, where they hold the meetings,” Itachi clarifies. “The Land of Iron is pretty far, but there’s a lot of opportunity there. We’ll be fine.”

“Slow down,” Sasuke interjects, grabbing onto Itachi’s arm to stop him from packing more of his food. “Why do I have to go with you? You’re the one who is training.”

“I can’t just leave my baby brother behind,” Itachi says, using the tips of his index and middle fingers to lightly tap Sasuke’s forehead, like he did when they were little. Sasuke feels heat swelling on his skin from the touch, a fond memory now tainted by the new image Itachi left of himself.

Sasuke slaps his brother’s hand. “That didn’t stop you before,” he says sharply, hoping to drive some sense into Itachi. His older brother only stared at him, devoid of any indication that Sasuke’s knife did any damage to his heart. Instead, Itachi zips up his backpack and heads for the stairs.

“Either way, you have to come with me. There aren’t many of us left, and the Uchiha clan must present ourselves as a united front,” Itachi reasons with him, before ascending the stairs to his own old bedroom.

Sasuke stands in the kitchen at a loss for words. Somewhere deep down inside of his heart, he knows that Itachi is right. Sasuke has an immeasurable amount of pride for his clan, and he knows that his brother is just as devoted to keeping the tarnish from their family name, no matter how much of a douche he is. The right thing to do is to leave with him, and do what he can to strengthen their ties. But the thought of packing up his whole life and leaving on such short notice sends a sharp pain to his chest. He is reminded of the idiot who just couldn’t leave him alone. How could Sasuke leave Naruto behind?

Itachi returns from his room with a stuffed duffel bag, filled with his clothes and any other necessities he might need for their departure. “You should start packing your things too,” he says to Sasuke. “We have to leave as soon as you’re done.” 

“Can I just make one request?” Sasuke asks, defeated.

“What is it?” Itachi responds, grabbing his coat from the closet.

Sasuke takes a deep breath. “Can I just have one more day? I have a few things I need to do first,” he says, voice steady.

Itachi pauses and holds his jacket in his hands before throwing it over his shoulders and heading for the door.

“I’m coming back here at noon tomorrow, so make it quick,” he says as he opens the front door, turning around to close it behind him.

“Itachi,” Sasuke stops him. “Thank you.”

Itachi looks at his little brother and nods before shutting the door and heading off. Sasuke checks the time. It’s after ten o’clock. He wonders if Naruto will be awake at this hour. 

**SASUKE [10:39pm] Hey loser, you up?**

**LOSER [10:42pm] I am now, what’s up?**

**SASUKE [10:42pm] Can I see you?**

**LOSER [10:43pm] Uh, you can come over if you want.**

**LOSER [10:43pm] Are you okay? You’re scaring me.**

**SASUKE [10:44pm] Okay.**

Sasuke couldn’t feel his hands or his feet. His whole body was numb as he walked through the chilled night air to Naruto’s place. He didn’t know what he was going to say, or how he would say it. He only knew that he had to say goodbye to the one person he couldn’t live without. Sasuke, for the first time in his life, was scared.

Naruto hears knocking on the front door to his apartment. It’s gentle, as if it’s trying not to disturb a sleeping mouse. He walks to the door and opens it, seeing his best friend standing in the doorway looking troubled.

“Hey,” Naruto greets him, giving his friend a nervous smile. Sasuke doesn’t say anything, he just keeps his eyes glued to the welcome mat underneath his feet. “Do you want to come in?” Naruto asks, opening the door wider. Sasuke nods his head, stepping past Naruto into his home. Naruto closes the door behind him and watches as Sasuke looks around. 

“You’ve never been to my place before,” Naruto says meekly, while rubbing the back of his head. “It’s not much, but it serves its purpose.” 

Sasuke only nods his head again, taking in the atmosphere that seemed unfamiliar to him. Naruto isn’t sure why Sasuke came, so it worries him how quiet he is. He wonders how to break the silence.

“Do you want a little tour?” Naruto offers, putting some liveliness in his voice, to try and alter the mood.

“Sure,” Sasuke responds, still choosing not to look at Naruto.

Naruto takes him through his tiny apartment. He shows Sasuke his barren living room, with nothing more than an old couch and a wooden coffee table. He takes him through a short hallway, stopping to show Sasuke his kitchen, stocked with an almost lifetime supply of instant ramen. At this, Naruto notices his friend’s face change, almost resembling a chuckle of disappointment. Naruto laughs himself, hoping to relieve some of the tension, and continues on with the tour. Naruto opens a door at the end of the hall and steps inside, allowing Sasuke to follow behind him.

“And lastly,” Naruto begins. “This is my room.” Naruto was nervous to show Sasuke his room. It wasn’t particularly clean, though he had tried his best to straighten it out after opening his text messages. The only people who had ever seen his room were the old geezer Hokage and a teacher from school. Showing off what little personal belongings Naruto had wasn’t one of his hobbies.

Sasuke stepped carefully around Naruto’s room, stopping to look at the picture frames sitting on his desk. One of them was a photo of a much younger Naruto and a large white-haired man. 

“Was this the man who took you to the waterfall?” Sasuke asks, breaking the silence.

“Jiraiya,” Naruto explains. “Though I liked to call him Pervy Sage,” he laughs at the memory. 

Naruto watches as Sasuke moves on to the next frame, a picture of an older Naruto and a pink-haired girl residing inside. The photo is dated from only a few years ago.

“This is the girl from the hospital,” Sasuke says, eyes scanning her face.

“Yeah, that’s Sakura,” Naruto confirms, putting his hands into his pockets. 

“You guys look close,” Sasuke says after a few moments.

“Yeah,” Naruto apprises. “We’ve been friends since middle school.” He looks at Sasuke, who still stares at the picture frame. Naruto fidgets with the thread inside his pockets, not sure what to say next. “Um, she seems to like you a lot.”

Sasuke turns his head from the photo to look at Naruto. “I’ve noticed,” he says, cooly.

“Oh, was she that obvious?” Naruto laughs. “Sakura always talks about you. She had never gotten a chance to speak to you since we went to different schools and all,” Naruto rambles. “But you were always talked about around the village. That’s why when I told her about what happened, she was ecstatic and volunteered to help-”

“I’m not interested,” Sasuke cuts him off. 

“Oh,” Naruto responds weakly. The silence in the small room only grows louder with passing time. Sasuke moves on to the third and final picture frame. 

“That one is of me and you,” Naruto almost whispers. The photo depicts a young Naruto and Sasuke, about nine years old at the orphanage where Naruto lived his early life. Naruto has an arm around Sasuke’s shoulders, while the other has his arms folded across his chest. 

“Where did you get this from?” Sasuke asks, his face softening.

“Uh, I don’t know really,” Naruto answers honestly. “But it was a few years before you stopped coming to the orphanage.”

Sasuke turns to face Naruto completely. “I told you already. I was only there for community service,” Sasuke says, defensively.

“Sasuke,” Naruto mutters, taking a few steps closer to him. “You only had to serve for a year, that’s no secret.” Naruto doesn’t stop walking until he is standing directly in front of Sasuke. “Yet, you kept coming back for five years. Why is that?”

Sasuke broke Naruto’s piercing gaze. “No reason,” he says calmly, looking towards the open window.

“I thought you hated me,” Naruto mutters, a hint of sadness in his voice. His heart aches from the memories of Sasuke pushing him away whenever he would try and get close. “I know I was an annoying brat, so I don’t blame you,” he admits, chuckling a little at his own obnoxious behavior. “In all honesty, I thought that you would leave me way sooner.”

Sasuke’s dark eyes meet Naruto’s. Naruto noticed that his eyes looked somber, and they wavered ever so slightly.

“I didn’t hate you,” Sasuke starts, speaking slowly as if to control his tone. “I wanted to, but I couldn’t, no matter how much I forced myself to believe that I did.”

Naruto starts to notice a rise of nerves in his stomach. Sasuke hadn’t hated him? He didn’t know what to do or how to respond. He felt relieved from the words, but he never expected to hear them. Naruto couldn’t help but smile his big, toothy grin. But Naruto could feel that something was wrong. At that moment, something inside of Sasuke broke.

Naruto watched as his best friend took another step closer. Sasuke seemed to sway as he inched forward, closing the gap between each other. Naruto was frozen in place, only an observer, in a moment so unique to himself. Sasuke’s face came increasingly closer to his, time moving in slow motion. Naruto closed his eyes, body shaking, not knowing what to expect from the boy standing in front of him. 

Naruto felt a weight on his right shoulder, and a head of dark hair buried in the crook of his neck. He opened his eyes. 

“I’m leaving,” Sasuke mutters into Naruto’s shoulder, his voice muffled.

“What?” Naruto asked him to repeat, fully knowing what he had just said.

Sasuke picks up his head from Naruto’s shoulder and struggles to look him in his eyes. “I have to leave,” Sasuke repeats, louder this time, his voice firm.

Naruto’s chest gets tight, and all the oxygen seems to leave his brain, causing him to be slightly light-headed.

“When?” he asks, voice cracking.

“Tomorrow,” Sasuke answers, shifting his stare towards the ground.

Naruto can’t think straight. He doesn’t know how he should be reacting. Why did Sasuke wait so late to tell him? Where is he going? How could Sasuke leave him like this? How could he leave him _again_? Naruto was mad. Sasuke doesn’t get to spring this on him, then not have the courage to look him in the eyes.

Naruto grabs both sides of Sasuke’s face, lifting his gaze back to meet his. Naruto can see Sasuke’s dark eyes are glossy, threatening to spill tears. No, he doesn’t get to cry.

“Why?” Naruto asks, removing his hands from his friend’s face, placing them awkwardly in his pockets. He made sure his tone was even, not wanting Sasuke to know how much his words are breaking him.

“Itachi came home tonight,” Sasuke explains. “I have to go with him to the Land of Iron for business.”

Naruto took a deep breath. He knows how important his clan is to Sasuke, and that business comes first. 

“I swear I didn’t know until now,” Sasuke continues voice trembling. “But, I knew I had to do this. You were the first thing on my mind. I had to see you.”

Naruto brought his arms up and wrapped them around Sasuke’s neck, engulfing him in a warm embrace. He could feel Sasuke’s arms hesitate before he finally brought them around Naruto’s waist, returning the hug. It felt good to hug Sasuke. Naruto had never gotten the chance to do it before, but it felt a hundred times better than what he imagined it to be. He knew that his best friend wasn’t an intimate person, so he understood how hard it must have been for him to accept this kind of affection. Naruto didn’t let go until Sasuke was ready. He removed his arms from around him and sat down on his bed. He checked his phone. It was already almost midnight.

“It’s almost midnight. Did you want to stay here tonight?” Naruto offers.

“You aren’t still mad?” Sasuke asks.

“Yeah, I am. But I don’t want you walking back alone this late and it’s cold outside,” Naruto huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. However, his face softens and he looks up at Sasuke. “Also, it’s still technically your birthday. I want to spend the rest of it with you.”

Sasuke fixes his gaze onto the blonde, studying his face. He doesn’t look away from those sapphire eyes as he takes a seat next to Naruto on the bed. 

“Okay,” Sasuke replies.

They lay down on the bed next to each other, not touching, but close enough to feel each other’s heat radiating off of their bodies. Sasuke lay on his back in silence, only focusing on the steady sound of Naruto’s breathing beside him. He stares up at the ceiling in the darkness, too anxious to actually get any sleep. As if reading his mind, Sasuke feels Naruto stir beside him, his warm hand grabbing his own in comfort. Startled from the sudden touch, Sasuke turns his head. Naruto has rolled over on his side to face Sasuke completely, his blue eyes reflecting the moonlight in the dim room. Sasuke follows his lead and turns over to face the blonde as well. Their hands still intertwined, Sasuke closes his eyes, feeling more at peace than he had before. Sasuke didn’t want to think about leaving the boy in front of him anymore. But it was reassuring to know that he would still be here when he got back. 

Sasuke feels another hand on his body. This time it was pushing his dark hair, which had gotten quite long, out of his face behind his ear. Naruto’s fingers ran through Sasuke’s locks, his thumb rubbing circles on his temple. Sasuke wasn’t used to being touched by anyone, but it felt almost natural when it came from Naruto. It wasn’t too much to make him squeamish, but just enough to let him know that Naruto cares. Sasuke didn’t know what to call this thing he has with Naruto. He didn’t even know, yet, what his own feelings were. But in this moment, it didn’t matter to him. Because being with Naruto felt _good_. It felt _real_. And it made him happy.

Sasuke woke up in the morning to an empty bed. Naruto was gone, but not far. Sasuke could smell something sweet, yet savory coming from the kitchen down the hall. Sasuke stretched out his arms above his head and rose, being sure to make the bed before leaving Naruto’s room and heading to the kitchen. Naruto stood at the stove transferring a large stack of pancakes from the pan onto a plate. Another plate with a smaller stack is already sitting at the table along with a cup of ice water and a side of crispy bacon. 

“Morning,” Naruto greets, noticing Sasuke’s arrival. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes,” Sasuke replies, using the back of his hand to rub the tiredness from his eyes.

“Good,” says Naruto, grabbing a seat at the table and motioning for Sasuke to join him.

Sasuke sits down in front of his plate, looking from his breakfast to Naruto’s eager face, waiting for the verdict. Sasuke takes a bite. “It’s good,” he says. Naruto smiles back. 

They ate breakfast in silence, each one not wanting to disturb the peace that came with sharing this meal, the last meal that they would have together for an indefinite amount of time. Sasuke finishes and starts to rise to wash his plate, but Naruto stops him.

“I got it,” he interjects, grabbing the plate from Sasuke’s hands and stacking it with his own. Naruto walks to the sink and begins to scrub the dishes while Sasuke sits at the table. Not sure what to do, Sasuke checks his phone. It’s ten o’clock now and he still hasn’t packed yet. It’s about time to leave soon. He puts his phone in his pocket and calls out to Naruto over the sound of the running water.

“I should probably leave,” Sasuke states.

Naruto shuts off the water. “So soon?” he asks, not able to hide the disappointment in his voice.

“Itachi is coming at noon. I have to be ready by then,” Sasuke explains, getting up from his chair.

“Okay,” Naruto replies, drying his hands on his pants. He walks over to Sasuke and stands in front of him, looking as if he wants to say something but chooses not to. Instead, he heads for the front door and Sasuke follows. 

“Thank you for breakfast,” Sasuke acknowledges, with a nod. “And for letting me stay over.”

“Of course,” Naruto replies, not meeting Sasuke’s gaze. He reaches for the door handle but stops just before latching onto it. He turns and faces Sasuke.

“You know you always have a home here, right?” Naruto asks, more for his own reassurance than Sasuke’s. He wasn’t planning on saying anything more. But Naruto couldn’t just let him leave the way things were. There was still so much left unsaid.

“As long as you’re still here,” Sasuke responds, looking deep into Naruto’s soul, searching his eyes for something, anything to stop him from leaving. But Naruto knew he couldn’t stop him, no matter how much he wanted to.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Naruto says, closing the distance between their bodies, their faces just inches apart. He can smell Sasuke’s natural scent, a mixture of sweat and clean laundry. His hands rise up to cup Sasuke’s cheeks, feeling the clench of his jawline beneath his palms. His pale skin is soft to the touch, without any scar or wrinkle to taint his blank canvas. He was truly beautiful in every light. The air around them is getting warmer and Naruto can feel the room start to spin. He closes his eyes and leans in. 

As gentle as the feeling of light rain pattering on skin, Sasuke presses his forehead against Naruto’s. It was a moment that Naruto engraved in his memory forever. A moment where his best friend was able to be vulnerable with him, and had the chance to express how he really feels in a way that was comfortable for him. He felt more connected to the boy in front of him with each passing second than he ever has before. Naruto didn’t need or ask Sasuke for anything more than that. He smiled softly. He already knew what they both held so strongly in their hearts.


End file.
